Konoha's border.
Beneath a bleak, dry rock peak, the air felt just as suffocating.
"So you're finally healed, Itachi."
The man in the orange spiral mask—Obito—emerged slowly, his voice raspy.
"Come on. I'll take you to meet your teammates."
In the shadow of the stone, Itachi tore the bandages off his body and lifted his head.
He hadn't expected that pale, ugly freak to possess medical ninjutsu this potent.
He didn't say a word—only gave a slight nod.
"Let's go." Obito chuckled, taunting. "Newbie. Try to survive here… a little longer."
As he spoke, space rippled. A vortex twisted open in front of him, ready to swallow the two of them into Kamui and relocate—
But at the very instant the spiral began to close—
Something went wrong.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
Countless needles—so fine they looked like cowhair, shimmering with a cold violet sheen—shot out.
No warning.
They exploded straight from the depths of the Kamui vortex itself.
The speed, the angle—too perfect. Too prepared.
As if someone had been waiting inside his "absolute domain" for a long, long time.
"…Huh?"
Obito's one visible eye shrank violently.
"What the hell is this?!"
Kamui was his territory.
So why was something this sketchy firing out of it?!
Pft-pft-pft!
The needles moved too fast. There was no time to think.
Obito reflexively phased—
Yet even then, several poison needles scraped the edge of where his arm was turning solid.
Pshhk!
The special Akatsuki cloak material instantly corroded into charred holes.
And the skin it grazed—
Burned.
Numbed.
Like it had been slapped by lightning and acid at the same time.
Poison.
And it wasn't over.
Huff—
After the needles came a thick purple haze, so dense it looked almost wet.
A faint, scalp-crawling buzz hid inside it.
This wasn't mist at all.
It was an ocean of nano-scale poison insects, swarming like living smoke—rushing straight at Obito and Itachi like piranhas catching the scent of blood.
Itachi's expression shifted.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A fireball roared out, and he withdrew instantly—
Even as his suspicion deepened.
What was this guy doing?
Earlier, he'd opened the space and dumped half a river out like a joke.
Now he's vomiting poison needles and poison bugs?
Would some "legendary founder" really fight like this?
The more Itachi watched, the more convinced he became—
This "Uchiha Madara"… wasn't.
"DON'T USE FIRE!"
Obito snapped, suddenly frantic.
"This garbage explodes when it hits flame! If the toxins get smeared all over my space, I'm screwed!!!"
Inside, he was already screaming:
Kakashi—YOU BASTARD! WHAT DID YOU TURN MY KAMUI SPACE INTO?!
Kamui wasn't just his trump card.
It was his warehouse.
Years of supplies.
Stockpiles.
Backup plans.
And now there were endless poison needles and nightmare bugs in there—
In bulk.
Like somebody had used it as a trash can.
Pshhk!
In that split-second of panic, a few insects slipped through a gap during his phasing transition and bit into his ankle as it solidified.
Zzzzt—!
The toxin detonated—pure venom mixed with nerve-numbing paralysis.
Even with Hashirama cells reinforcing his body, Obito staggered, vision swimming, pain drilling deep like a hot screw.
His movements slowed—just a fraction.
But in a fight?
A fraction was enough.
Elsewhere—
Caw-caw—flutter!
The instant the insects and needles appeared, Itachi had already pulled away using a crow clone.
He watched Obito's mess from a safe distance, Sharingan turning slowly.
"So there's a moment of solidification when he releases things…"
"A weakness."
And then his gaze locked onto the purple haze.
Those nano-scale insects.
Itachi's eyes narrowed.
This felt like Aburame techniques… yet far more vicious.
And stranger still—
Why would something like this exist inside Obito's Kamui space?
A shadow flickered across his mind, uninvited.
A boy's face.
Kai.
Before he could chase the thought, Obito made his decision.
He lunged, grabbed Itachi, and bolted—
Not using Kamui this time.
After what just happened, he didn't dare open that space again.
Who knew what other "surprises" were waiting in there?
Bzzzz…
As they fled, the spatial disturbance slowly settled.
Leaving only a purple stain crawling over the rock—
Patiently waiting for the next unlucky bastard.
Konoha. Sunset.
For the first time since the chaos began, an orange-red glow poured down.
The village wore a tired gold.
Kai's mind lit up with the system panel:
[Sixes All the Way (Rainbow): A fate-changer. Every six days, six weeks, six months, and six years, you gain an upgrade point of varying rank.]
[Upgrade points can directly strengthen traits.]
Sixes All the Way?
Upgrade points?
Kai's eyes narrowed instantly.
Four words exploded in his head:
Deep blue. Add points.
With this—
His Wood-Style cells could be pushed toward true Hashirama-grade faster.
His Nine-Tails power wouldn't need to rely on gambling anymore.
Wood Style wrapped around Nine-Tails?
Plus the Uchiha's heirloom Susanoo?
He didn't even want to imagine how absurd that would become.
"...Hah."
Kai took a slow breath, turned slightly, and closed his eyes.
The sunlight felt unusually gentle.
That nap—
Was the sweetest sleep he'd had in days.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh…
"Hmm?"
When the sky turned fully dark, a faint sound near the clan's outer edge woke him.
At this hour… someone was training outside the village perimeter?
Kai frowned and headed over.
Back hill.
He quickly spotted the blond kid—still grinding clone practice until his arms were stiff.
Uzumaki Naruto.
The Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
Konoha's future "child of prophecy."
Yet right now?
He was just the dead-last loser who couldn't even manage the basic Clone Jutsu.
And then—
From behind, a lazy, teasing voice drifted down.
"Yo! Peeping isn't a good habit, you know… kid."
Kai's pupils tightened.
Someone got close without him noticing?
He spun around—
And saw him.
On a tree branch behind him, lounging like he owned the night—
A tall man with wild white hair.
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